Does Headsup Display Improve Neurosurgical Endoscopic Procedures

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Does Heads-up Display Improve Neurosurgical
Endoscopic Procedures? Abhilash Pandya1, MS,
Mohammad Siadat1, MS, Lucia Zamorano1, MD dr med,
Jianxing Gong1, PhD, Qing Hang Li1, MD, PhD,
Jorge Alvaro Gonzalez-Martinez M.D. 1, Ramiro
Perez-de la Torre M.D. 1 , James Maida2,
MS 1Wayne State University, Neurosurgery
Department, Detroit, MI, 2NASA/Johnson Space
Center Contact Information apandya_at_neurosurgery.w
ayne.edu [phone] This work is partially
supported by NASA grant NRA1999.
Discussion / Future Work The subject study
indicated that the heads-up display may improve
the focus and efficiency of the operator. In a
surgical case (Figure 5), the heads up display
allowed the surgeon to maintain a clear view of
the surgical field. Without moving her head, she
was able to glance at the endoscopic view. The
surgeon commented that there was less neck strain
and that she was able to guide the surgery with a
little more focus and confidence. This study is
still in-progress and the data collection
continues. There were not enough subjects in this
study to make a conclusive decision. Future work
will include a more expanded study with more
subjects and variation with regards to monitor
placement. In addition, more complex tasks will
be considered which more closely represent a
surgical case. Conference
Presentation Congress of Neurological Surgeons,
Oct. 2001
The Phantom was covered with a piece of sponge
and a small hole was placed in the center of the
sponge to create an opening in which the user
would guide an endoscope. The glasses used for
this study were the iglasses (LCX2) from iO
Display Systems. These glasses have TV
resolution (compariable to the monitor we used
for the study). Results Five of the
seven subjects did the task faster using the
heads-up display. On average, the subjects
performed 8 percent better with the heads-up
display (Figure 4). In the questionnaire
provided, several of the subjects commented that
the use of the heads-up display helped in the
concentration of the task. It reduced external
input and helped them focus on the task.
Introduction The purpose of this study was to
evaluate the use of heads-up display technology
for endoscopic operations. In these operations,
the surgeon's hand-eye coordination is critical
for success. There are very subtle issues
involved with regards to very slight motions of
the head and hands that can result in amplified
endoscopic motions. In Figure 1 below, the
surgeon is performing an endoscopic surgery using
the rooms overhead monitors. Note that she is
looking away from the surgical site while
performing the surgery. With the heads-up
display, the surgeon is able to see the surgical
field as well as the endoscopic view at the same
time (Figure 2). Methods The seven
test subjects of the study were asked to use an
endoscope in a phantom brain and pick up five
targets (distributed throughout the environment)
using a heads-up display and a monitor for
viewing.
Figure 3 Heads-up Display vs. Monitor
Viewing

Figure 1 Surgeon Performing an Endoscopic
Procedure Using the Over-head monitors for
viewing. Figure 2 The heads-up display
technology
Figure 5 Surgical use of a
Heads-up-Display for an Endoscopic Case
Figure 4 Data from the Heads-up vs Monitor
Display Study